Communities in Florida are preparing to get hit head-on by a potential Category 3 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico days after Hurricane Helene made landfall in the state – killing 20 people, leaving thousands without power and paving a trail of wreckage.

Tropical Storm Milton is predicted to continue intensifying and could begin to affect Florida early next week.

Florida could see a Category 2 hurricane hit next week, bringing surge and high winds to the recovering west coast and serious flood risks to South and Central Florida. The National Hurricane Center’s first cone of uncertainty for Tropical Depression 10 puts it on an eastward path through the Gulf of Mexico and into Florida’s west coast on Wednesday — a second blow for a region still catching its breath from the devastating Category 4 Hurricane Helene.